It works:) More info: http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:10077. The article is of the older versions and the status updates are in the discussion. I will (hopefully) make a nice semi DIY article when the project reaches a more definite halt, which should be no later than 2 months, although unfortunately I might not make the right unit into what I planned.

Shinare wrote:I hope that success in this contest is not hinged on how expensive of photography equipment you have. For me, I can only do so many things with a 3MP cell phone camera. heh

Nah, you just need to know what your tool can and can't do. There are two things a cell phone camera can't do, and that is to capture a good image in low light, and look sharp at high resolutions. Set up good lighting for your shot, and limit your submission to about 1024 pixels wide, and you can then clean up the remainder with a bit of post-processing (even Paint.Net, which is free, has enough features to get you there).

An investment in time and props is much more important for executing a good idea than the camera. My entry (page 5) cost about $35. I also shot about eighty images at different settings, angles, and light conditions (there were clouds moving around the sun so the light kept changing). Of that entire batch, there were about eight that I liked and tweaked for a bit, two of those that I considered for the final cut, and one that I actually finished for submission. Ironically, the shot I ended up using came from the lens I least expected to perform and only shot a couple images with...but there you go.

For all that, I may win nothing, but I got some good experience out of the deal and it was a lot of fun to do.

Again, as JaE indicated...craftsmanship is more important than the tools

ludi wrote:An investment in time and props is much more important for executing a good idea than the camera. My entry (page 5) cost about $35. I also shot about eighty images at different settings, angles, and light conditions (there were clouds moving around the sun so the light kept changing). Of that entire batch, there were about eight that I liked and tweaked for a bit, two of those that I considered for the final cut, and one that I actually finished for submission. Ironically, the shot I ended up using came from the lens I least expected to perform and only shot a couple images with...but there you go.

For all that, I may win nothing, but I got some good experience out of the deal and it was a lot of fun to do.

Again, as JaE indicated...craftsmanship is more important than the tools

I hear 'ya. My shot took a while to setup, and my living room, bedroom, and kitchen looked like a pig sty what with all the various hardware and lighting instruments strewn about. On the bright side, I'm getting much better at using a light box. It's a bit more challenging because I'm using the cheap $10 work lights from Lowes instead of proper studio lighting, and my light box is literally held together with straight pins... but it works. I'm not used to setting up shots in studio, but it's nice to switch focus on my hobby and see what I can do in a controlled environment for a change.

I even learned a couple new post-processing tricks by tweaking my final photo. I didn't do anything extreme in pp (just a nudge here and there on the slider in DPP), but the final effect looks very much like I ran the photo through Topaz software, but not as extreme.

Hey! I'm new to the forums, but I just wanted to say thanks for being an awesome website and thanks for having a hardware photography contest. Of course the one time when I actually need my camera for something with a deadline, my friend is borrowing the camera! Thankfully I had some previous photos of some of my hardware, though. Anyway, I look forward to seeing everyone's pictures and participating in the forums!

FireGryphon, thanks for the acknowledgement. I thought I had a non-negligible shot at winning the card until you posted your pic. The story and the creativity blew me away.

The great irony is my current video card is so ancient that even if I win a copy of Metro 2033, there's absolutely no way I'll be able to play it. In that circumstance, one of my friends will benefit from my (hypothetical) fortune.

ludi wrote:I am seriously digging cappa84's "The Player" -- about 30% on the concept and 70% on the composition. One of the only black and white attempts in the whole set and a pretty good one.

It's a neat shot, and I like it as well. I also like where conjurer is going on page 5. His third to last shot is pretty good, and I see he tried to get something going with the hologram on the Pentium II cartridge. I tried that with my Pentium II's and III's, but I couldn't get it quite right to be interesting enough. The reflection in the hdd platter is pretty neat.

Yeah, cause we all know the world of photography could use some more black and white, sepia, depth of field, HDR, and all that other crap that makes all "professional" photography unoriginal and indistinguishable. Creativity should be 80% of any photo because the rest is a dime a dozen these days.

By the way, welcome to all the new gerbils who signed up for the contest and shared their pics with us. Hopefully we'll see you around!

Derfer wrote:Yeah, cause we all know the world of photography could use some more black and white, sepia, depth of field, HDR, and all that other crap that makes all "professional" photography unoriginal and indistinguishable. Creativity should be 80% of any photo because the rest is a dime a dozen these days.

Not quite sure what you're referring to by this, though I agree with your nominal point that creativity is important and that it's easy for photographers these days to use advanced techniques without much substance to them. Thus separates art from the rest. That said, I laugh whenever I take a ho-hum picture that ends up looking spectacular when I completely desaturate it or change its tonal balance.

thatmushroom wrote:FireGryphon, thanks for the acknowledgement. I thought I had a non-negligible shot at winning the card until you posted your pic. The story and the creativity blew me away.

Many thanks. The competition is still rough, though. There are lots of pics here that I wish I had taken, they're so good, and each is a different take on creative.

The great irony is my current video card is so ancient that even if I win a copy of Metro 2033, there's absolutely no way I'll be able to play it. In that circumstance, one of my friends will benefit from my (hypothetical) fortune.

I was thinking about this, too. My rig isn't exactly old, but I don't know how it might handle the game if I win a copy. But hey... Rage is running on a 2G iPhone, so maybe Metro 2033 won't be that bad...

Derfer wrote:Yeah, cause we all know the world of photography could use some more black and white, sepia, depth of field, HDR, and all that other crap that makes all "professional" photography unoriginal and indistinguishable. Creativity should be 80% of any photo because the rest is a dime a dozen these days.

You sound just a tad snide and bitter. Which is unfortunate because I actually agree with the point you're trying to convey.

You know, I'm completely fed up with the way that hammers are overused. I mean, some people use a hammer for everything these days! And you can't go by a single construction site without seeing hammers everywhere. What a boring tool. People should learn to be creative when they drive nails.

FireGryphon wrote:By the way, welcome to all the new gerbils who signed up for the contest and shared their pics with us. Hopefully we'll see you around!

I've found my second home, only problem is reading all the post's you guys have made over the years I don't want to miss anything out

Excellent, just don't be too critical of what you read.

hehe I hear ya, Critical is derived from my old gaming name - cRiticalError - cos' thats what I used to get every session because my rig wasn't quite up to the task back then Anyone else remember America'sArmy ?

I have to say I'm really impressed with the creativity and thought put into some of the shots in this contest. Even though I do photography aside from my other job I've never really done any kind of what I would call product photography (if you could technically call this product photography, seems similar, idk). I joined only for the contest, although I'll probably stick around because I tinker with computers constantly. But, as always it's never the camera or equipment that takes good pictures, it's the photographer that takes good pictures. So on that note, to everyone the best of luck.